The chart below is organized into
three main groups. All fabrics either burn and must be put out or
burn until there is nothing to burn, or they burn and go out on their own after
a few seconds leaving remaining unburned fiber and are therefore
self-extinguishing, or the fabric does not burn even with a flame held directly
to it.

To identify the fibers in an unknown
piece of fabric, cut off a snippet -- it's best if it's about 1" long and a
triangle at most 1/4" wide (try to cut from one of the already cut ends or if
testing fabric made into a garment cut from an inconspicuous seam
allowance). Hold the snippet of fabric in a pair of tweezers over
something that won't burn or melt (an old tuna tin or glass ashtray is ideal)
and with either a match or cigarette lighter put the snippet directly into the
flame long enough for it to catch on fire.

Watch the snippet as it burns -- does
it go out on its own? Then it's self-extinguishing -- go to the lavender
area of the chart. Do you have to put it out or does it burn to
nothing? Then it's not self-extinguishing -- go to the aqua area of the
chart. Does it defy all attempts to burn it? Then it does not burn
and the small yellow section of the chart is where you look.

The further breakdown of the chart
helps identify the fibers by the smell of the smoke it gives off in burning, and
the ash or melted bead that remains after it has burned.

Remember that some fabrics are
blends, and the blend of fibers may make the burn test an unreliable test for
fiber content. Also, some fabrics have chemical finishes and sizings
applied to them that will alter the way that they burn, making them
unidentifiable by this chart.

The chart itself is a gif and you
can right click and save it to your own computer. Once you do this, open
it to print a hard copy (I keep one in the sewing room and one in my purse with
collapsable scissors and a lighter in an old candy tin -- portable burn test
kit!) This chart will print on one 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper in the
"landscape" position (sideways).

If you are having trouble getting the file above to open (it's a GIF), click on the link below for a jpeg (file size about 55kb):